OK, I'm back

Ever have one of those relationships where you just can't stay mad at the other person, because he/she has an uncanny (almost infuriating) ability to say or do just the right thing, however small, at just the right time?

For me, that's how it's been with the Mariners over the last two months.

I have been to only two games at Safeco since the All-Star Break (which incidentally was the same week they dropped back below the .500 mark and into last place, never to recover). Since that break, they have done little to inspire hope or loyalty in their fan base. They gave us a disastrous road trip right out of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles — an 11-game losing streak (which was one swing of the bat away from becoming a 13-game losing streak). Even worse, they treated us to a 20-game losing streak against their own division, and then, almost as a coup de grace, they traded/drove away the most beloved veteran on the squad since Edgar.

As I said, I made it to only two games during this campaign of disaster and ruin, and both times they managed to lay on the charm thicker than Ferris Bueller. I can't stay mad at this team.

The first game was July 23 vs. the Red Sox — a 26-hit, 17-run battle royal that culminated in an 8th-inning inside-the-park home run (Safeco's first) by Adrian Beltre to break up a 7-7 tie; J.J. Putz dramatically fanning both Ortiz and Ramirez in the 9th before giving up a titanic home run by Varitek to re-tie the game; and Sexson decisively ending it moments later with a walk-off homer into the Sox bullpen. Add to all that the competitive energy and tension that all those Red Sox fans bring to Safeco, plus of course, the wildly amusing Keystone Cops defensive antics of Mr. Manny Ramirez, and you have one hell of a great show.

The second game was last night vs. the Angels — a fast, tight pitching duel between Hernandez and Escobar. King Felix was (finally) every bit the pitching god the hypesters proclaimed him to be, working fast and flummoxing the strong, free-swinging Angels lineup. He kept his fastball down, reserved his devastating breaking ball for the late innings, and summoned up triple-digit heat to overpower Guerrero and end the only real offensive threat the Angels could put together. Throwing only 95 pitches, Felix walked away with his first major league shutout, his first complete game since June 11 (and the team's first AL West victory since the same), plus the shortest game in Safeco history (1:51).

I swear this cannot be the same team I watch on FSN and read about in the Times. These guys are pulling an Eddie Haskell on me. Do I have to attend every game in person to get this kind of performance from those clowns? Because you know, I'm willing to do so, if they hold up their end of the deal.